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Informer

Viola Playing

Viola Sommer, FORBES 400 member from New York during most of the 1990s after the death of her real estate magnate husband, Sigmund Sommer, tried to carry on the family tradition by backing her son's development of Aladdin Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. But it went bankrupt a year after its 2000 opening, owing $460 million that Sommer Trust had guaranteed. Thirty-six of the 37 lenders agreed to a workout, but Beal Bank Nevada, unhappy with its hefty hit, sued Sommer herself and others for full repayment of its $21 million share. New York's highest court just ruled 4 to 1 for the 85-year-old matriarch, saying loan agreements barred a separate lawsuit. Beal Bank has taken out newspaper ads urging lenders everywhere to support its view that loans are meant to be repaid. --Ashlea Ebeling

My Old Kentucky Home

In four months shares of Compress Technologies have quadrupled to a recent 81 cents, producing a $63 million market cap. Latest financials for the 19-year-old Sarasota, Fla. company--originally named Kentucky Telephone--show no revenue or operating cash flow, though press releases report subsequent license fee income. The firm says it is developing technology to allow (1) cable TV systems to reduce the need for expensive fiber replacement and (2) FM radio stations to broadcast additional signals over their licensed frequencies to specially equipped receivers. Executive Vice President Tom Terwilliger--one of just two employees--says investors see big markets. He says he knows nothing about a mysterious outfit called Alex Consulting that is funding massive touting of Compress on the Web. --Matthew Rand and William P. Barrett

But Not Canadian Sellers

Prairie farmland in Canada has income yields double those of comparable U.S. land, yet it sells for lower prices. One big reason: Provincial laws sharply restrict foreign ownership, reducing the pool of possible bidders. The newsletter Farmland Investor says the ownership limit for non-Canadians is 40 acres in Manitoba, 20 acres in Alberta and just 10 acres in Saskatchewan. Several years ago something called the Saskatchewan Farmland Security Board blocked the purchase of 7,518 acres by Swedish industrialist Hans Rausing, whose $9 billion net worth puts him at No. 73 on our billionaires list. The agency openly admitted it favors Canadian buyers. --W.P.B.

Operating on Its Members

The International Union of Operating Engineers has just enacted a rule barring members from putting up Web sites discussing union campaigns unless they are password-protected for the dues-paying faithful only. A mouthpiece for the union, whose 400,000 members operate heavy equipment, says the prohibition promotes "robust discussion" about sensitive topics such as bargaining tactics that outsiders shouldn't hear. Public Citizen, the liberal open-government lobby, has sued in Washington, D.C. federal court to void the rule. Lawyer Paul Levy says members of the labor unit, sometimes accused of violence and favoritism, might be a little leery about identifying themselves.

--Daniel Fisher

Shifting Into Reverse

Appearing in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a lobbying trade group representing big carmakers, was among the named parties arguing vigorously that the Clean Air Act did not give the federal government the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. But the high court ruled that it did. Unruffled, the alliance, in a pending Vermont case challenging that state's pollution control rules, is contending that only the federal government can regulate carbon dioxide exhaust. For support, it cites that adverse Supreme Court decision. --Jonathan Fahey